T2.0 lighting system

Since the discovery of fire, man has finally been able to see in the dark. From that day, street lighting has evolved through oil and gas lamps, up to the well known contemporary electric lamps and LED lighting systems. In any case, its function has always been the same: to keep the streets of cities bright and clearer at night, but also safer for vehicles and pedestrians when sunlight starts decreasing.

Although this technology has made considerable and advanced improvements in recent years and still is constantly getting smarter, important problems persist with the most diffused street lighting systems, these problems can be summarized in three main concepts: energy consumption, light pollution and visual annoyance.

The consumption problem is two-sided. The first, the large amount of energy generated by conventional street lighting turns into a high level of harmful emissions, the latter, for the most of night-time the lights are switched on for no reason while lighting desert areas. Beyond the efficiency problem, overlighting affect: darkness depending ecosystems, natural human day-night cycle and visibility of the night sky.

The purpose is to restart street lighting concept and system using smart poles which are capable to provide effective solutions to the highlighted problems. T2.0 is a system that can: guarantee energy efficiency, interact with any specific surrounding and its natural light-cycle and refine the atmosphere at nighttime ensuring a better user experience.

The use of the latest LED Technology with high Color Rendering Index (CRI) connected with daylight and motion sensitive sensors can drastically reduce the amount of overlighting. LED contribution in solving the problem it’s clear, saving up to 80% of energy production costs, this will pay off the initial investment and generate sufficient profits to cover the annual mantainance. The intensity of the light source will be adjusted from its higher level to the lower according to the amount of light present in the adjacent area, this includes both natural sunlight and moonlight (full or new) as well as artificial light in urban areas, coming from shops, signs, traffic lights, etc.

Concerning the replacement, the new system is thought to be installed in open areas such as squares, parks and big urban streets.

Compared with the already existing light poles, once T2.0 gets installed, its transformation will impact not only the natural sphere but also the social one.

Regarding this, the lamp’s innovative geometry and the way it gradually lights up from the bottom to the top, arouses a total new perception and feeling of the urban elements during night-time, causing a different impression from the common cold, unpersonal and sometimes brutal light poles that nowadays are placed all over cities.

This project, both for its shape and for the way the light spreads on its inside, is inspired by the earliest and most primitive illumination system: the torch. Historically the torch has been a symbol of hope, life and enlightenment. Moreover, torches can be immediately associated with the well-known Olympic symbol, used to light up the Olympic flame.

Speaking about materials and techniques, the “LED Torch” is a tessellated geometry shell made out of a casted aluminium that allows 360-degree lighting. The shell’s interior contains 40 Matrix LEDs, each one placed in its specific ABS directional boxes to have better control and easier manteinance. For the aethetics the external skin material and colour could change depending on where the system’s will be installed.